Felidae: On The Waterside
by Phoenix Oblivion
Summary: When Gustav is asked to watch over a facility observing a large group of cats living around Sanctuary Lake, Francis comes along for the ride, expecting a holiday. But when he discovers a murderer is on the loose in the community- that call themselves the Clans- Francis must work together with an attractive she-cat called Ivypool to find the killer before it's too late...


**Author's Note: Check this out! Very first Warriors and Felidae crossover.**

**From Francis's POV. Takes place two years after the events of the film. It's basically a Felidae-esque sexualised murder mystery based in the Warriors universe. WARNING: Rated T because it's Felidae. Just watch the film or read any of the Felidae books and you'll get what I mean.**

**Thought this was an interesting concept to explore. There ****_is _****violence in the Warriors world, though not as graphic, and if you think about it, there's actually gotta be an awful lot of mating as well considering how much kits are made (it's not described, but you know what I mean). Some of the locations in the story are fictional, but there won't be too many OC's. **

**So yeah: enjoy! And yes, I know that Felidae is technically set in Germany, but just for this story, I've decided that it's set in England, all right?**

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**Felidae: On The Waterside**

**Chapter One:**

The stylish house, that had been built overlooking a very impressive lake, had seemed like a pretty good thing at first.

And don't get me wrong: there wasn't anything wrong with the house. Oh no! It was phenomenal. It was everything that me and Gustav had been looking for, and more. There was a large kitchen, there were spacious rooms, there was a terrace with a great view of the countryside surrounding it. I spent hours just staring out into the horizon on this terrace, admiring the picturesque sunsets that grazed the area, and the mountains with snow white peaks that you could see in the distance. There was even a hut with a table tennis table (even if it was old).

The problem with the house was what lived around it. To be honest, I should've known better, considering the kind've of luck me and my obese friend usually got with neighbours. I still hadn't forgotten the Claudandus incident two years prior… or that business with the Company of the Merciful. But I would just like to get a few things ironed out as well. It's actually my own fault that I had such terrible time. Oh, my damned, damned curiosity!

The other thing that I'd like to get ironed out is that this is an adventure. And you guys know what that means, don't you? Trouble.

It all started when Gustav got the telephone call.

I remember it very clearly, as well. It was a nice day; the early morning sun was shining brightly in the sky, and the trees swayed softly in the light spring breeze. Everything was bathed in an attractive golden glow, and I was sitting on the window sill, staring out into the garden. As it happens, me and Gustav had been breaking records. We _still _hadn't moved out of the house that we had bought two years ago. When I had actually wanted Gustav to get Writer's Block so that we would be able to move again, he had failed me. However- I admit he had done some decent work on the place. There was fresh wallpaper now, and most of the wooden floor boards around the doorway and stairway had been replaced.

Even so, I was dying to get out of there. I hadn't liked it when we first moved in, and I was sick of it now. I could tell Gustav was too. He's not used to staying in one home or flat for more than a few months, and our "love" affair with the Psycho reminiscent house had been going on for much longer than he was comfortable with. I often caught him pacing around in his study restlessly, his flabby belly jumping up and down like a space hopper. I often stayed in to watch him doing this, because it was somewhat amusing.

So you can imagine my reaction when he got the phone call from the team. I had had a particularly tiring night, mainly because I spent half of it indulging myself with one of the new females on the block. Her name was Pepeline, and she was Father Joker's great granddaughter. As it happened, her information had been the main reason that I'd discovered who had really been behind the murders concerning the breeding programme. I had predicted she'd grow into an attractive queen, and as usual, I'd found myself to be correct. She had been-

I'm getting off topic. My point is that I was exhausted, and was only really half paying attention when Gustav picked up the phone. It had started off pretty ordinary, with him grumbling replies and nodding as if he thought that the person on the other side of the phone was actually there with him. But as the conversation progressed, I noticed the growing excitement building up in his voice. My eyes narrowed when the call continued. It had been about five minutes ago when Gustav had picked up the phone: usually my owner is incapable of making a phone call last five seconds.

Suddenly, Gustav jumped up in his seat and make a frantic grab for paper. I leapt up, startled by the sudden movement, and my fur bushed out to twice it's normal size. He started writing something down with a pen, and I tilted my head to one side, attempting to make it out. It looked like some kind of address or postcode. I'm not a master at reading, I'm certainly not a master at reading upside down, but being the prodigy that I am, I managed to make out what he'd written.

_Evergreen House,_

_DH9867,__  
_

_Sanctuary Lake,_

_The Lake District,_

The Lake District?! My eyes diluted in confusion, and I shuffled my paws uneasily. 'What the hell does Gustav want with the Lake District?' I muttered aloud. After he'd finished writing, Gustav dropped the pen and began nodding more frantically than before. A cheerful sparkle had appeared in my owner's eyes. One that he had been lacking for awhile. _The person calling him must've said something really important to get him this riled up, _I muse mentally.

Finally, Gustav stopped speaking into the phone, and I heard the familiar sound of the person on the other end hanging up. I waited, curious to find out what was going on. Gustav didn't have anyone else to speak to, so he often ends up telling me things. He didn't have any idea that I understood what he was saying when he begun his babble.

He said it so quickly that I didn't catch half of it, but what I did manage to make out made my heart leap up with joy. Before I could even react, however, Gustav had got to his feet and rushed out of the study. I was surprised that such a big guy was able to move that fast.

So what had transpired over the phone? Well, the answer is that Gustav was offered a job. Gustav had used to study Egyptian Gods and other aspects of the Egyptian community. Over the period of time we had spent at this house, he had stopped writing shitty romances for gossip magazines after one of his books on the subject of an Egyptian goddess actually got published. It was received quite well with the public; the royalties from the book where what gave him the cash to install those new floorboards in the house.

Up in the Lake District, a new research facility had been set up after some scientists received some information that was apparently a huge amount of cats living wild around Sanctuary Lake that were behaving in odd ways. They'd been looking for some experts in feline history and heritage to help them in there research. They'd gathered lots of people from around the country, and since Gustav also knew a thing or two about felines and how Egyptians had influenced _Felis catus' _development, they'd decided to call upon my owner.

The wages for the job were good, or so Gustav had said, and they wanted him to come up to Lake Dens as soon as possible. They'd also offered to pay him some cash up front if he managed to arrive today. Everything had been organised for him already. The research facility had booked a house where he could stay while living in the area, and they said it was a very beautiful place, so it could be considered as a sort of holiday.

And so that was how I ended up at Sanctuary Lake.

It was also how my third encounter with murder began.

Me and Gustav arrived at Evergreen Cottage late into the afternoon. It wasn't night just yet, but it was certainly drawing in. The car journey to get to the Lake District had been a good three hours, and even though all I'd done is sat around in the backseat and waited for us to arrive, I felt exhausted. Gustav looked even more tired than me.

I have to admit, I was intrigued by this facility and what they were researching. From previous experiences with human involvement with animals, I'd decided that it was best to keep away from them, but since they didn't seem to be doing anything too harmful, like experiments, I pushed my worries away. It sounded like they were just observing the movements of this community and trying to find out how they lived, and such. And as we got out of the car, it was painstakingly obvious that there definitely was a large amount of cats living around the lake.

The overwhelming scent of feline activity entered my nostrils faster than lightning. Quickly, I padded forward, my tail swishing form side to side as I inspected the area. The facility hadn't been lying when they said it was a very beautiful place. It was friggin gorgeous! The whole lake seemed to be in a kind of dip in the ground. On one side of the lake, there was a large collection of pine trees, where long shadows were cast. Next door, the evergreen trees (from which I guessed _might've _influenced our holiday home's name) then blended in with more familiar trees that I was used to seeing in back gardens. Oak, Elm, Rowan, Birch. All trees typically English. After that, there was a large range of hills. It was from here that I detected the strongest cat scent. I guessed it was probably because the wind carried smells further in that area.

The final place, and the one that completed the circuit of land surrounding Sanctuary Lake, was the most pretty. It was a collection of small brooks and rivers leading straight into the lake. I could see lots of reed beds and other water dwelling plants there. The lake itself was very pristine as well. The light of the sun reflected of it: it was so intense that I almost had to look away.

Gustav followed me out of the car and stood with his arms outstretched. 'Well Francis,' he said, beaming. 'Isn't this amazing?' For once, I actually couldn't find fault in what he'd said. My owner then turned around and pointed with his finger. 'The place we're staying looks great as well. Very modern.'

I followed his gaze to inspect what was going to be our dwelling for the next few weeks. It was a cottage, but it had obviously been revamped several times by the previous owner. It was similar to a log cabin in some respects, but the roof was tiled. I wondered what horrors would await us inside the cottage. At the moment, it had occurred to me that all this was all far too good to be true.

Gustav turned around and opened the boot of the car, taking out his suitcase as well as a few provisions he had packed in advance, before beginning to walk towards the cottage. I bounded forward at pace and reached it first. Quickly, I leapt up onto the table which was on the terrace of the cottage, peering in through the stained glass windows. To my surprise, it looked very nice on the inside as well. There was a TV, computer, all the necessities. I could just about make out the kitchen and stairs as well.

For the first time, I allowed myself to smile. Maybe this was going to turn out to be a holiday after awhile.

Gustav arrived beside me and dropped his luggage onto the floor, groaning. 'Gosh, why do all my bags always have to be so heavy?' He muttered, before reaching down and picking up a flowerpot that was beside the door. Underneath it was a key, which Gustav picked up and slotted into the lock. Turning it, he opened the door and stepped over the threshold.

My opinions improved even more. Apart from a few specks of dust upon the furniture, the inside the of the cottage was in better shape that I'd previously observed. It was probably owned by a rich guy in London or something, and the facility had rented it out for Gustav.

Well, I wasn't going to complain.

I followed Gustav into the flat with my smile growing ever bigger. Both of us settled down in the living room, and Gustav turned on the TV. I leapt up onto a leather armchair that was positioned in the centre of the room, and stretched out luxuriously. I rested my head upon my paws and let out a long yawn. Gustav fell asleep almost instantaneously with when he took a seat, his pathetic snoring louder than ever. I purred with amusement, feeling optimistic, and felt my comfortable and cosy surroundings lull me into a doze.

*****:**

My eyes opened at dusk. Gustav was still asleep on the same chair, and his snoring had only intensified. I rolled over, trying to get back to sleep, but when I realised that it wasn't happening, I snorted in annoyance and got to my paws. I stretched my back legs and peered around the cottage. Since my owner hadn't bothered to turn on the light, (lazy pig) and it was dark outside, I could hardly see a thing. It took a few moments of fumbling around before my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness and I begun to pad towards the door. I hadn't noticed it before, but luckily there was a cat flap. I slipped through it and out into the open air.

A fierce chill made me shiver, but I ignored the cold and padded forward, off the terrace, and onto the lush green grass. Sitting down upon my haunches, I stared outwards at the lake, admiring it once more. I wasn't really sure what had tempted me outside, but I knew that curiosity was going to get the better of me… as usual.

I knew it. I wanted to explore.

I sighed and shook my head a little, but knowing I would give into the burning questions flowing through my head eventually, I decided to have a look round now and be done with it. It took awhile for me to figure out which part of the lake I would go to first, and due to this indecision, I felt my eyelids droop with the same tiredness from before. But I knew there was no point in heading back inside now that I had chosen to inspect the area.

Finally, I decided I would head over to the place full of pine trees first. It was the closest part to the cottage after all. Excitement and anticipation prickled through my body as i began heading towards the trees. It took me less than a few seconds to reach the line of undergrowth, and that was when I found the first thing that was wrong.

Lining the edge of the forest, there was a very strong scent line. Confusedly, I followed it to the left for a few paw steps, before realising it must continue for awhile around the outskirts of the pines. I frowned. It was almost like a border line, warning me to go back, and not to enter. But of course, I didn't heed the first warning, and continued right in.

The next clue I should've picked up on was the fact that there was an odd and disgusting smell flowing through the air currents. It seemed familiar, but the overlapping stench of cats prevented me from identifying it. Blindly, I continued on my path. Little did I know that I was going to punished for not turning around in a few seconds.

The strange smell only got stronger as I headed deeper into the pine forest; the branches only got larger and thicker as well. Soon, whatever dim light that had been being cast by the setting sun was completely blacked out by the branches. But now, not only was I fuelled by a desire to explore, but now, I wanted to find out what the smell was.

Soon enough, I reached a clearing where the smell had increased by such a degree that I was certain the source of it had to be nearby. I stopped walking, and dropped into a crouch instinctively, my eyes diluting to try and take in as much light as possible. I followed my nose in a circle, before finally, I discovered that it had been coming from a bush. A hawthorn bush. I stared at it warily, not sure whether I should approach or not.

Tentatively, I reached out with my paw to brush some of the twigs of the bush away to get a better look-

I gasped with pure shock and horror and backed away. Underneath the bush was the corpse of a dead cat. A she-cat. It had been horribly mutilated. It's tail had been completely ripped off, and blood stained the grass all around it. The many wounds and bite marks on the pelt of the cat had bled so much there wasn't any blood left in the body. I felt sick as I saw what happened to the face. One of it's eyes had been gouged out, leaving just an empty socket.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a twig snapping. I spun around. 'Who's there?' I called out.

A deep growl filled the air. A growl of complete rage. Fear consumed me and I backed away, but before I took another step, the bushes exploded.

A group of cats leaped out, claws unsheathed and fangs bared. Five of them in total. I opened my mouth, but four of them had pinned me down before I could even speak. The other raised his paw and dragged his claws across my face. I groaned in pain.

'You killed Tawnypelt!' One of the cats screamed. 'You're gonna pay for what you did to her!'

'No- no!' I managed to choke out. 'It wasn't m-'

But before I could speak another word, the cat that had scratched me snaked forward and brought both of his paws down firmly upon my forehead. I saw stars appear in my vision.

And then everything went black.

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**Well the ending to that turned out a bit more tense that I had originally planned, but I'm pretty proud of it. :)**

**Please RR and tell me what you ****think!**


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